Thursday, April 5, 2012

Century Links' Merry Go Round Of Despair

You may remember that when I moved in to this house none of the phone jacks worked so I had to plug my phone line directly to the outside box and route the cord through the bathroom window. My router is still living in my bathroom and it hasn't been a priority to fix the problem because my netbook is wireless. Now that my parents have moved in they brought with them a very old Mac computer that is not wireless. The time has come to fix the problem. I tried the phone jacks again but still nothing. I examined the outside cable and it looks like it has been chewed up. So, I need someone to remove the chewed part and splice in a new cable. This sounds so simple. I wish I could do it myself but a google search told me that only a licensed contractor should be doing that sort of repair and that means calling the phone company.

I have posted before about how frustrating Qwest customer service is and now that they are called Century Link, nothing has changed. First, I tried to get on the website. For some reason it wouldn't recognize any of my passwords. I tried to reset the password but it wouldn't recognize my 'internet only' phone number and told me to call customer service. I called the internet repair help line and was obviously talking to someone in a foreign country. I explained the problem and they transferred my to a guy in Idaho Falls. For a brief moment I thought that I was getting somewhere but he said he had to transfer me to phone help and then tried to get me to add Direct TV service. The next non-native English speaker, after hearing that I did not have phone service, said that she was transferring me back to internet help even though I told her that is where I started and I had been transferred 3 times already! The last woman also did not know English well and the connection was bad. She insisted that she could only hear every other word I said and I finally had to hang up because she just kept saying that my internet was working.

I ended up writing Century Link an email which was also difficult because once I admitted I was a customer it kept trying to get me to sign in which I couldn't do. I pleaded with them to send out a repair person but so far all I have received is an acknowledgement of my email and also a very annoying follow up email from the frustrating phone call which spelled my name wrong and then says that they hope they answered all of my questions and then directs me back to the website.

I don't know why I stick with Century Link. I should have switched to the cable company's internet service when I moved. I have heard that their customer service is LOCAL. Perhaps it is just a rumor.

If there is any other option then I would go with it.Most of the call centres we have to deal with here tend to be in India. The staff tend to be really friendly and helpful but their English language is a completely different version and my heart drops when I know that's what I am getting.

What a nightmare, Daizy. To get passed around like an unwanted holiday gift among people who you can't understand and with a bd phone connection......ARGH! And you have shown to be such a handywoman in home repairs, too.

Never Too Old, I only have to call every few years and every time I am surprised that they still have the same horrible service. I must admit that 6 years ago when I called the person was in the Philippines so I guess India was a change but not for the better.

Dave, I was surprised that phone cable can't be fixed like cable cord can. I suppose it is a little more complicated. But then it turned out to be a bigger problem so it is good they finally sent someone.